Butterflies part 12
by Kksaunt1
Summary: Ahhh...the joys of marriage...hope you all enjoy!


Jack woke up with his arms wrapped around Elizabeth. He didn't want to move, it was perfect. This was the feeling he had always wanted. Waking up next to her, brought tears to his eyes. He just laid there, taking in everything about her. Her hair smelled like vanilla. Her soft skin on her shoulder, perfectly kissable. She fit in his arms, like a puzzle piece.

He felt her start to stir. Then she turned and looked at him. "Hi," she said sleepily as she kissed him.

"Hi. How are you this morning, Mrs. Thornton?"

"Perfect. You?"

"A bit hungry, but otherwise, never better."

"Oh, I can make us breakfast." She tried to get up, but Jack wouldn't let her go.

"Um, sweetie? I really can't make breakfast from here."

"I decided that I'm not really hungry. I'd rather you stay here, for awhile." She settled back into his arms, safe and warm and they fell back asleep.

A little later, Elizabeth woke up and decided to make breakfast. She slipped out of bed, careful not to wake Jack, put her new robe on and headed downstairs to see what food they had. They didn't have much but she found some eggs and some bread for toast.

Jack walked down the stairs to see what smelled so great. But when he caught sight of his gorgeous wife, cooking, in nothing but her robe, that stopped just above her knees, he forgot about the food and was mesmerized. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, kissing her neck. "Good morning again, Sweetheart."

"Hi..are you hungry?"

"Oh yeah."

"I meant for breakfast, Constable." She turned towards him, smiling, and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So remember when I said you look kinda cute when you wake up?"

"Mmhmm."

"I changed my mind."

"Yeah?"

"This morning, you looked unbelievably cute."

"Wow, I went from kinda cute to unbelievably cute? That's quite the jump."

"You earned it, husband," she said with a blush.

"After breakfast, let's see if I can make it to extremely cute…"

That night after Jack made Elizabeth dinner, they were sitting on the couch. Elizabeth writing in her journal with a smile on her face, her bare legs stretched out over Jack's lap and Jack trying to read a book, but failing miserably. "Hey, can you not do that?"

"Do what? I'm just sitting here writing."

"You are distracting me."

"How?"

"You are sitting there smiling, at whatever it is you are writing about, and your legs over here…and sometimes when you bite your lip when you're thinking… Oh my goodness, how am I supposed to concentrate on anything?"

Elizabeth just laughed. "Sorry I'm so distracting? Maybe I'm not supposed to apologize for that…who knows. I am smiling because I'm writing about you." She went back to her journal, trying not to smile, but it wasn't easy. She bit her lip, knowing now it drove him crazy.

"Ah! I give up." He tossed his book on the table and decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. He started rubbing her feet and her ankles. Then he moved up a bit….

"Hey, now who's distracting whom?"

"Now that I have your attention, I have something to talk to you about."

"Ok. What is it?" she asked as she put her journal down.

"The day I took your dad and Wynn out to our property…your dad gave us a gift." He handed her the envelope.

"Oh my goodness, Jack. This is a lot of money."

"I know. I told him we could make our own way, but he said he would give the same gift to whomever married his daughters, regardless of their circumstances so I agreed. What do you think?"

"I think it was very generous of him, but I agree with you too that we can take care of ourselves. I think we should keep it for emergencies."

"So do I...kind of just set it aside in case we need to add on to the house."

"Add on? You are already building three bedrooms…how many do you think we need?"

"Well, enough for those ten babies we are going to have," he said with a smirk.

"Jack, three, sweetie. Not ten."

"We'll see. I bet I can convince you…"

"Um, no you couldn't..not even now, with your new convincing abilities."

Jack just stared at her, with that look that always gave her butterflies, and then smiled. "I love you, Sweetheart. Thank you for marrying me, even though you are so distracting."

"I love you too, Jack. Come here." She pulled him close and they held each other, just loving being together and enjoying the fact that he didn't have to say goodbye anymore.

The next morning, Jack got up early, and decided to make his wife breakfast, but realized they didn't have much food. They obviously hadn't gone into town for supplies and since they were leaving on their honeymoon tomorrow it wouldn't make sense to buy much. Then he heard a knock on the door. "Who could that be?" he wondered. He went to open the door and Abigail was standing there with a basket in her hands full of wonderful smelling food.

"Good morning, Jack. I just wanted to bring some food over, since I figured you might need it."

"Abigail! Thank you so much. I was just noticing we didn't have much. It smells wonderful."

"You're welcome Jack. I'm going to go, but I will see you both tomorrow before you leave for your trip."

"You will. Thanks again." He took the basket and shut the door and took the food upstairs. He walked in to the bedroom and noticed Elizabeth was still asleep.

"What smells so good?" she said as she rolled over.

"Abigail brought us food…I was going to make us food but this is better. It should be enough for breakfast and lunch."

"Um, sweetie…did you go to the door like that?" she raised her eyebrows at him. He didn't have a shirt on.

"Yes…Oh. Well, I didn't expect anyone to knock on the door."

"That would be like me going to the door in this sheet or just my robe."

"Next time, I'll grab your robe…how's that?"

"I would love to see that person's expression when you opened the door," she giggled as she imagined it. "So what did she bring?"

"Looks like some fruit and sausage and eggs. Oh, and some scones and biscuits."

"Let's go eat."

"I think we should have breakfast in bed. That was my plan anyway before she brought this."

"I'll go get some plates and forks."

He watched her get up, put on her robe and head downstairs. "Amazing," he thought to himself.

After they ate, Jack realized something. "Hey, we really need to pack. Our stage leaves in the morning."

"We can do that later. I have plans for you now, my extremely cute husband."

"Yeah, later sounds good."

Quite a bit later, they decided to actually get dressed and pack for their trip.

"Honey, have you seen my blue button down shirt? I thought I put it over this chair but I can't find it."

"I put it in the drawer."

"Ok. Thanks. How many dress shirts should I bring?"

"How many do you have?"

"I don't know. Like five maybe."

"I would bring all of them."

"All? I'm not sure why I asked. I've lifted your suitcases, anvil and all."

"Very funny. I just think if we go to dinner, or to a museum or something you might want to dress up."

"I wasn't planning on needing too many clothes for our honeymoon," he said with a wink.

"Oh. I see. Well, I still say bring at least three. We want to go out to dinner at least."

"I'm going to head into town to check on Rip, make sure the Constable is feeding him. Do you want to come with me and see Abigail?"

"No. I think I'll stay here."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm just not ready to see people yet."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm a bit uncomfortable. I mean, we've only been married for two days and what if people talk…I don't know. It's silly."

"Elizabeth, people in Hope Valley talk. They think everything is their business. But people know what married people, especially newlyweds, do. It's not a secret."

"No, but they would be talking about us. That's different. I just think you should go by yourself."

"Ok. I am going to see Abigail and take her the basket and get some food for dinner for us."

"Ok," she said without looking at him. She was a bit embarrassed that she felt that way, but she couldn't help it.

"Hey, Elizabeth? I love you. It will get easier." He kissed her cheek.

"I know." She touched his face. "I love you more."

That night, Elizabeth lay in bed, unable to sleep. She decided to head downstairs to read a bit so she didn't wake Jack. She picked up the book Jack was reading, but it wasn't interesting to her. She thought maybe she was thirsty so she decided to make some tea. As she was waiting for the water to get hot, she went out on the porch. It was beautiful out, a little chilly, so many stars.

"Elizabeth? Are you ok?"

"Oh, Jack. I'm fine, I just can't sleep, so I thought I would read, but that didn't work, so I'm making some tea."

"Are you upset about something?"

"No, not really. I don't know what it is. Just not tired I guess."

"Come here," he said as he pulled her into his arms. "Its chilly out here."

"Not anymore…you're pretty good at keeping me warm," she said as she snuggled closer into his arms and slowly kissed him.

"If you want, I can finish making your tea and bring it to you upstairs."

"That's sweet, Jack. Thank you. See you in a minute." She kissed him again and walked upstairs.

After a few minutes Jack brought her tea up to their room, but she was already asleep. "Not tired huh?"

He chuckled and then drank the tea himself, wrapped his arms around his sleeping wife and went to sleep himself.

The next morning they met their families at Abigail's for breakfast and to say goodbye. Everyone would be going their separate ways on the next few days while Jack and Elizabeth were on their trip.

"Elizabeth, can I talk to you?" Abigail said as she delivered everyone's food.

"Sure."

They walked into the kitchen and took a seat at the table. "I just wanted to know how you're doing. You seem good," she said with a knowing smile.

"I couldn't be happier Abigail. Everything's just perfect."

"I'm so glad! Are you ready for your trip?"

"Yes I am. I am so excited to see San Francisco, but mostly just spending time with Jack. I don't know how to describe how I'm feeling. I just don't ever want to be away from him. It's going to be hard when we come home and both go back to work."

"Don't think about that now. And when that time comes, just remember to always make time for each other, no matter what."

"I won't forget."

A while later, after everyone said goodbye, Jack and Elizabeth were on their way to San Francisco. Elizabeth was sitting by Jack, holding his hand, looking out the window of the stage.

"Honey? Are you ok?"

"Of course," she said with a sad smile.

"What is it?"

"Its strange. I am so happy we are together and finally married, but I already miss Hope Valley and our families. I mean, we are finally in a good place with my family and we have Tom back, thank goodness. I feel weird leaving them behind, even though being with you is amazing. It's silly I guess."

"No, its not. Hey, look at me." He gently turned her chin towards him. "This is a new situation for both of us. We have new feelings and new circumstances to sort through. I understand what you mean. Being with you all the time is so wonderful, but I think it's going to be really hard when we have to get back to work. You are such a distraction when I'm with you, I can't imagine trying to concentrate when I'm not with you."

"Same here. Yesterday when you went to town, I missed you the second you left. I couldn't wait for you to walk back through that door." She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder and sighed.

"Are you happy, Jack? With me I mean?"

"Of course I am! I love you more everyday, Elizabeth. You are a wonderful wife and my best friend. What more could I ask for?"

"Jack, promise me that, no matter what, we always make time for each other. A walk, holding each other, or just talking at the end of the day. I just don't want to lose that."

"Promise." He kissed her forehead and pulled her closer against him. Before long they were both asleep.

The trip to San Francisco was long and rough at times. Switching from stagecoach to train and the days that it took never seeming to end. They did their best to distract each other, taking full advantage of their time alone. Finally, the train pulled into San Francisco and they found their hotel. It was right on the Bay with beautiful sand and peaceful surroundings. When they checked in, the couple was surprised that someone had upgraded their room to a suite, but then they figured it was her parents and weren't surprised anymore.

The suite was amazing, complete with a bathtub in the washroom and a sitting area with a fireplace. Needless to say, it wasn't necessary to leave the room very much. However, one night, Jack surprised Elizabeth with a romantic dinner out. They ate slowly, enjoying the soft glow of the room, the music playing and dancing. When they decided it was time to go, Jack said, "Take a walk with me, Elizabeth."

She loved that phrase. He took her down by the water. They took off their shoes and walked in the sand, hand in hand, moonlight shining on the water. "This is so beautiful, Jack."

"You're beautiful. This dress has always been my favorite."

"You remember it?"

"Are you kidding? The first time you wore it…I couldn't believe how amazing you looked, walking down the stairs in your parents house. I fell in love with you even more at that moment. If no one else had been there, I would have taken you in my arms and told you that, but as it was…"

"I remember that suit you wore. You were so handsome that night. That look on your face when I came down. You didn't care if anyone else noticed, you only looked at me and my heart melted."

"It will always be only you, Elizabeth."

"I know." She reached up and touched his handsome face. "I love you."

"I love you more."


End file.
